The Proposal
by JessieBess
Summary: To keep the spirit of the Valentine's Weekend going! Tom learns what is really important when proposing marriage. My first modern day Tom and Sybil story.


_Yes this is a Sybil and Tom story, I do assure you!_

"This weekend" Tom thought, "this will be the weekend that changes my life." He had made all the arrangements for the weekend away. Booked the hotel – a romantic charming inn according to the website. Made reservations for dinner on Saturday night at the most upscale restaurant in the area.

Most importantly, earlier in the week he had bought the ring. He had debated with himself whether he should buy a ring or whether together they should pick out the ring. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he should just buy it. While the weekend wasn't a surprise – how could it be, he had to make sure she had no work or other commitments, he wanted the proposal to be a surprise. Although after two years of dating, he wasn't sure a proposal wasn't expected.

Two years he and Karen had been dating. Sometimes it seemed like five not two. While they did not live together, they usually spent four or five nights a week together. Each had clothes and toiletries at the other's flat. But Tom had resisted a total move in together for reasons he just couldn't explain. He still enjoyed having his own space although he actually shared the flat with two other guys. He liked to sometimes come home, put on his sweats, open a pint, and just loose himself in sports on the television. His flat mates were longtime friends and Tom always enjoyed an evening with them at the flat or at their local pub.

But now it seemed like it was time to move on. Some of his mates had married and one had even married and divorced already. The same with Karen's friends as she often reminded him although she tried to do so in a casual so what way. But Tom knew underneath her seeming nonchalance, Karen was wondering what was taking Tom so long to pop the question.

Tom thought this weekend would bring the right time to ask. His dilemma was exactly where and how. He wanted it to be special and romantic . . . something that would cause envy among Karen's friends and family when she told them how he had proposed.

On the drive west from London, Tom and Karen talked of their work week. It had been an especially busy one for Karen and so they hadn't seen each other all week although there had been daily phone calls and texts. In fact, Karen had to work late that Friday and they didn't end up leaving till two hours after they had planned to. Karen was so stressed out from work that she told Tom what she looked forward to the most was a relaxing bubble bath while sipping a glass of her favorite wine.

So to say Karen was disappointed when they finally arrived at the inn would be an understatement. What should have been a two hour drive ended up being almost five hours because of a traffic accident about half way there, a driving rain that seriously reduced visibility and Tom getting lost in the final half hour. Because they were so late arriving, the "honeymoon" room that Tom had booked had been given to another couple. The room they were given would on any other occasion have been considered charming but now seemed old and dated. But the real disappointment to Karen was that there was no tub in the ensuite only a shower.

Both Tom and Karen were so tired that they immediately feel into bed and went to sleep. Although it had over a week since they had last made love, neither had the energy nor, at least on Karen's side, the desire to make love.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. It was an absolutely gorgeous early spring day, a day perfect for a hike in the nearby hills and a picnic lunch. Tom thought that lying on a blanket surrounded by the beauty of the hillside country with a lovely picnic lunch would be the perfect time and place for a proposal.

When he opened the bottle of Karen's favorite wine, Tom briefly considered doing the proposal but something caused him to hesitate. Maybe over dessert. Maybe before dessert. Maybe after dessert. Tom just couldn't make up his mind. So before he knew it lunch was over, the wine bottle was empty, and he was no closer to making the proposal.

Maybe during a romantic candlelight dinner would be the better time and place. Yet as soon as Tom walked into the restaurant he knew this wasn't the right place. The snooty waiter shuffled Tom and Karen to a small table that everyone using the restrooms had to pass by. The food that got such rave reviews by food critics left Tom with an empty stomach still wanting more food. Karen's favorite wine wasn't on the wine list. In fact, Tom didn't recognize any of the wines but then again he wasn't use to paying over 100 pounds for a single bottle of wine. Dinner, like the room, turned out to be a disappointment.

Even their love making that evening had been as Karen jokingly told him "going through the motions."

"Are you implying I'm not leaving you satisfied my love?" Tom inquired after Karen's comment while feigning hurt feelings.

"Of course not. But you're mind seems somewhere else." Karen replied. "You're always good but it just didn't seem like your heart was in it" she continued.

It was then that Tom considered popping the question. At least that would show her where his mind really was. But then he thought what if one day one of our children asks how and when they got engaged. Did he want to tell them it was after they'd had sex? And sex that had left their mother somewhat dissatisfied at that? So rather than pose the question, Tom proceeded to show Karen how good it was when his heart was in it.

And so the weekend came and went. Tom never did find the perfect place and time for the proposal.

Two months after their weekend away, Tom still hadn't popped the question. He hadn't even thought about it very much since he was so busy with work as was Karen. In fact, he had only seen her about four or five times since their weekend away due to their unusually busy schedules. So for most of this time, it was numerous text messages and phone calls that had kept them in touch.

Tom was walking down the street pondering his relationship with Karen rather than paying attention to where he was going. He was abruptly awoken from his reverie with the sensation of his feet being lifted from the pavement and then his body landing face down. A searing pain shot through his left arm.

"Oh dear" a little old lady whispered while the dog whose leash she was holding whimpered. "I guess you didn't see Bumby. Are you hurt?"

Three or four bystanders had now gathered around Tom who had now managed to get into a sitting position, sat on the pavement holding his left arm and moaning.

"I've called for an ambulance" a take charge looking man said.

Twenty minutes later, Tom was laying on a gurney in the emergency room. His arm still hurt like hell and now his ankle was throbbing.

The curtain around his bed was suddenly pulled open and in walked the most beautiful woman Tom had ever seen.

"I'm Nurse Crawley, the nurse practitioner. I know you're in pain but we need to determine the extent of your injuries before we can give you anything. Where do you hurt?" she asked gently in a husky voice that sounded so sexy to Tom.

Tom just stared at the beauty before him while she examined his shoulder, arms and then both of his legs. He tried to smile "Just my arm and shoulder and my ankle.

"I guess your left arm broke your fall. It does appear to be broken and your wrist badly sprained but I'll have to do x-rays to confirm that" Nurse Crawley commented as she finished her examination. "I think your ankle is twisted not sprained but we'll x-ray that too. I'll need to stitch that cut on your forehead. You also have some cuts on your lower arms and your cheek that need to be taken care of."

Although Nurse Crawley had a very gentle touch, Tom winced as Nurse Crawley took care of his cuts. For her part, as she worked on his cuts, she noticed how handsome his face was and especially what beautiful blue eyes he had. Too bad, she thought, his face will look like he was in a fight by tomorrow.

"You'll probably also have some bruises on your arms and face" she commented as she finished her work.

Six hours later with his arm properly cast, his wrist and ankle bandaged, and his various cuts cleaned and disinfected, Tom was ready to go home.

"Is there someone that can come get you?" Nurse Crawley inquired. "Because of the pain medicine we've given you, you can't leave on your own."

"I could call my flat mates." Tom answered reluctantly. Now that the pain medicine had kicked in, he was feeling fine, and wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Nurse Crawley. Maybe he could suddenly develop a pain in his other shoulder or ankle.

But there was no answer to Tom's calls. As he sat there wondering if he should call Karen, Nurse Crawley approached him.

"I'm off duty in less than an hour. I could give you a ride home if you want."

As soon as she had said it she was mortified that she had offered a patient a ride home. But then again most of her patients were not as handsome as Tom Branson. Between his looks, his warm smile and that charming Irish accent, Sybil could see herself falling for such a guy. Oh it has been a while thought Sybil, I do need to get out more.

When Sybil returned just under an hour later, Tom lay sprawled across three chairs in the waiting room. Obviously the pain medicine had knocked him out. Waking him up, Sybil told him she was ready to go if he could walk to her car.

The short walk to the car was difficult for Tom kept stumbling even though Sybil had one arm around his waist and was holding his arm (the one without the cast) tightly. He practically fell into the seat when she opened the car door.

Before Sybil had gone ten feet, Tom was once again asleep. Twenty minutes later when they arrived at Tom's flat, he was still asleep and resisted her efforts to wake up.

Hoping that one of his flat mates was finally home, Sybil left Tom in her car while she went to the building and buzzed his flat. Luckily one of them answered the intercom.

"Hi. Your flat mate Tom had an accident. I'm a nurse at St. Marks Hospital and I've brought him home but the pain medicine we gave him has him asleep and I need help in getting him into the flat." Sybil felt she was rambling and the man on the other end of the intercom would think she was daft.

"I'll be right down" the voice replied. Another pleasant Irish accent Sybil noted.

Two minutes later the front door was opened by a tall, lanky guy wearing sweats and a t-shirt. "Are you the nurse?" he inquired as he looked Sybil up and down appreciably.

Sybil nodded but before she could say anything, he continued grinning "I didn't know hospitals offered door to door service."

Sybil blushed thinking he knew why she had really driven Tom home but she ignored his comment. "He's in my car just there" she said as she turned and walked towards her car.

Luckily he followed her. Seeing Tom sprawled in the front seat with his arm in a sling, the stitches on his forehead and the various cuts and scrapes on his arms and face, the flat mate was suddenly apologetic. "My name is Sean by the way" he told Sybil.

"I just hope the two of us can get him into your flat" Sybil replied.

It was quite an effort. After a minute or two, Sean was able to get Tom to wake up but it took both Sean and Sybil to get him out of the car. Tom weighed more than he looked, probably all that muscle thought Sybil, and he couldn't put any weight on his left foot due to the badly twisted ankle. Still groggy from the medicine, Tom wasn't really much help but he did manage to stay somewhat upright with Sean bearing the brunt of his weight with Tom's arm around Sean's shoulder. Sybil put Tom's other arm around her shoulder and helped Sean as much as she could.

It took them at least five minutes to cross the quiet street and get Tom to the door of the building.

"I hope you don't have any stairs" Sybil stated.

"Luckily there is a small lift but the three of us can't fit in it" Sean responded.

After some maneuvering, they decided Sybil would ride in the lift with Tom while Sean took the stairs. As the lift slowly ascended, Tom appeared to become a little more alert although he couldn't figure out who the beautiful woman supporting him was.

"Well my darling" Tom started in that wonderful, although now slightly slurred accent, "this is certainly my lucky night." His look at Sybil would have been considered a leer in other circumstances but Sybil just looked at those dreamy blue eyes and wished they had met at a bar.

Before she could react, the lift stopped and Sean stood waiting on the landing. He had already opened the door to the flat so it was just a matter of getting Tom out of the elevator and walking him the ten feet to the flat.

"We should probably put him down where he can sleep since I'll give him some more pills before I leave" Sybil told Sean.

"His room is down this hall" Sean said as he pointed in the right direction. Once again Sean and Sybil walked a rather unsteady Tom to his room where when they dropped him onto the bed he let out a curse.

Sybil seemed to forget where she was for a moment, thinking she had a patient in the hospital, and started removing Tom's pants. "I think he needs some looser clothing like sweats so he'll be more comfortable" she blushed as she realized Sean was looking at her with both puzzlement and amusement in his eyes.

Sybil quickly stood up and diverted her eyes from Tom. "I'll leave you to do that" she said to Sean." Pulling out a page of instructions, she continued "Here's the information on his injuries and what he needs to do. I think he'll probably sleep for awhile. If you have any questions, the number to call is on the instructions."

Sean looked at Sybil with a gleam in his eye, "Is that your number?"

Sybil rolled her eyes. "No it is the number for the hospital."

"Well don't you want to leave your number?" Sean inquired. "I mean you are familiar with his case."

Sybil was torn. She would love to hear from Tom but felt a little strange to give her number to Sean. After all it wasn't really in her place to have brought Tom home in the first place. But looking once again at Tom, Sybil thought why not take a chance for a change. "Oh, alright, I'll put my work number on the instruction sheet." She also included the hours she would be working tomorrow.

"Well, thanks for your help. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't home. I can see myself out." Sybil hurriedly left the bedroom and then the flat.

Tom did sleep the rest of the night and late the next morning. He was still lying in bed deciding what to do, when to his great surprise, Karen walked in. He could immediately tell she was angry.

"Did you forget about the dinner tonight" was Karen's greeting. "I called you several times last night and this morning but you never answered and never returned my messages."

"Well I suppose you can see Karen, I'm not really fit for an evening out." Tom raised his arm to show her the cast.

"Tom you know how important this dinner is to me. We've talked about this. I need to make a good impression on the partners. I need you there."

"Karen, I just don't think you are grasping the situation here" Tom responded. Really, he thought, surely she can see he's been hurt.

"It's just your arm. It's not like you can't walk. Although I guess we can't do anything about those bruises on your face" Karen talked as if Tom was deliberately avoiding attending the dinner.

"Well I'm glad you are so concerned about my welfare." Tom snapped at her.

Karen looked like Tom had slapped her. She realized then that she had only been focused on this dinner which was so important to her.

"I'm sorry Tom but you know how important this dinner is for me. It's a very fancy affair and it will look odd if I show up without my boyfriend."

Tom didn't care to listen to any excuses from Karen. This wasn't the first time she hadn't considered him. He was tired of her always wanting to control their relationship. She hadn't even asked him what happened or how he was feeling.

"Karen, I can't go to this dinner. My ankle is badly twisted, I'm in pain from that and my arm still hurts like hell."

Karen looked crestfallen.

"In fact Karen, I think I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of you."

"What!" Karen seemed genuinely stunned. "Tom, I'm sorry I seemed so inconsiderate but …" 

Tom stopped her. "I don't care Karen. I've had enough. Just go. Leave me alone."

Hearing the anger in his voice, Karen realized she had gone too far. But she knew he'd regret his tone and his words as soon as he had time to digest what he'd said. It had to be the drugs that had clouded his thinking.

"I'm sorry Tom. What can I do to help you?"

"Just leave."

Karen leaned over to kiss Tom but he turned his head so the kiss landed on his cheek. "I'll call you later." With that she turned and walked out.

Three days later, after letting numerous calls from Karen go to his voice mail, Tom looked at the instructions Sybil had left. Since his accident, she was the one he had been thinking about not Karen. He couldn't believe she had gone out of her way and had brought him home. Not only was she beautiful but she seemed very kind and caring.

Without thinking, Tom found himself dialing her number. He was surprised when she answered on the fourth ring.

"Nurse Crawley"

"Ah … ah Sybil … I mean Nurse Crawley … this is Tom… Tom Branson … the guy you were kind …"

He could hear her chuckle. "I know who you are. Are okay?"

"I'm feeling much better. Most of the swelling has gone from my ankle but it's still a bit painful to walk on it but otherwise the pain has gone from my arm and wrist. But it is a bit annoying with the cast" he couldn't believe how he was rambling.

"I'm sorry. I was calling to thank you for bringing me home. And to apologize for anything inappropriate I might have said. Sean has been teasing me mercilessly, especially about whatever I said or did in the lift."

Sybil was struck by how sheepish he sounded. "Really Tom, you have nothing to be sorry about but I do appreciate you calling. I'm still on shift for another two hours so I need to …"

Realizing she was getting ready to hang up, Tom hurriedly added "Sybil, I hope this doesn't seem weird to you, but I'd really like to see you again. What if I meet you when your shift ends and we could go somewhere for a quick bite. My way of saying thanks."

Sybil could feel the sudden rapid beating of her heart. "That sounds wonderful" she heard herself say before she even thought about it.

For the next two hours, Sybil felt she couldn't concentrate on her patients. Luckily, she was only dealing with routine problems.

Sure enough as Sybil ended her shift, she saw Tom standing at the nurses station waiting for her. He looked even more handsome that she remembered even though he did still have some faint bruising. If she thought he was handsome, the way his face lit up when he saw her caused her to gasp.

They ended up going to Sybil's favorite pizza place which was just a block from her flat. They weren't aware of how long they had been there until they realized the staff was beginning to clean up. Neither Tom nor Sybil could believe how easy the conversation had flowed between them.

Although neither seemed to want the evening to end, Sybil had an early shift in the morning and Tom was returning to work for the first time since his accident.

As they stood on the stoop of her building, Tom asked if they could go out again.

"I'd love that" Sybil replied. "How about Friday?" Sybil blushed thinking how forward she was. But there was something special about Tom. Something she hadn't felt in a long time.

"That sounds good to me. I'll call you Friday morning to set it up okay?" Tom replied before kissing Sybil on the cheek. As he walked down the small walkway which separated her building from the street, he looked back and found Sybil still on the stoop watching him. Grinning from ear to ear, he waved before turning back and limping to his car.

But of course Tom couldn't wait till Friday. He called Wednesday evening and they talked for two hours as they did also on Thursday evening. By the time Friday came, both were so excited to see the other.

Tom's ankle was bothering him so instead of going out to a restaurant, Sybil got a take away from a place around the corner from her apartment. Two bottles of wine later, Tom and Sybil found themselves curled up on the sofa with Tom's foot propped up on the coffee table. Sometime during the second movie of the evening, they both fell asleep still on the sofa.

Sybil woke first on Saturday morning. She looked at the still sleeping Tom and couldn't believe she had finally met a great guy. Letting Tom sleep, she took a quick shower.

It was the smell of frying bacon that finally woke Tom up. Ambling to the kitchen, Tom stopped at the doorway taking in the sight of Sybil engrossed in her cooking. "It smells wonderful" he finally managed to say.

His heart fluttered when Sybil looked up at him, her smile melting his heart.

Sheepishly he said, "I can't believe I just fell asleep like that. Guess that makes me a pretty boring date."

"Well since I also fell asleep, I guess that makes me boring too" Sybil retort still smiling.

"So does that mean you'll go on a second date with me?" Tom asked as he moved closer to Sybil.

Sybil raised an eyebrow, "Guess we'll just have to see how breakfast goes" she laughed.

**Six months later**

Every eight weeks, Sybil had to work a night shift for a week. Usually this shift was fairly quiet except for Friday and Saturday nights, but this Monday night had been unbelievably busy. Sybil was tired and hungry and looked forward to getting home. She couldn't decide if she wanted a nice long bath or a meal first.

To her surprise, Sybil found Tom waiting at the nurses station.

"Are you alright? Has something happened?" Sybil asked with alarm.

Tom smiled "I'm fine. Since we haven't seen each other for a couple of days, I thought I'd take you to breakfast."

Sybil laughed. "Oh Tom, you don't know how nice that sounds. I was just thinking I'm famished and couldn't decide if I wanted breakfast or a nice long bath first."

Tom lifted an eyebrow. "Although the nice long bath sounds very very appealing, I unfortunately do have to go to work. So I guess it will just have to be breakfast. But maybe tonight …"

Sybil kissed his cheek. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

They walked to a greasy diner that was only two blocks from the hospital. Sybil loved the pancakes there. She had told Tom they were just like the kind she had whenever she visited her grandmother in America.

As they ate their breakfasts, Sybil suddenly realized Tom had stopped talking and was just staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What's the matter?" she asked hesitantly. The past six months had been the happiest of her life and the thought that Tom could be thinking of ending it tore her heart.

But Tom wasn't thinking of ending their relationship. Taking himself, and Sybil, completely by surprise, he said "Will you marry me?"

Sybil stared at him as if she wasn't sure she had heard that right. "Did you say … marry …"

"Yes, marry me?" Tom repeated before Sybil could finish her sentence.

Sybil grinned that smiled that always melted Tom's heart. "What took you so long to ask" she laughed.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it's yes. YES. YES"

Many years later when their children learned their father had proposed to their mother while eating pancakes in some greasy diner, Tom reminded them that it wasn't the where or when or even how one proposed. What was important was the who. When it was the right woman, none of the rest mattered.


End file.
